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World Leaders React to Putin’s Proposal to Renew Direct Peace Talks
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![Ivan_khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
-21d0b63c17f6020e4df75f6c6f9a2f4f.jpg "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Following a proposal from Russian leader Vladimir Putin to resume direct peace talks with Ukraine starting May 15, several world leaders, including Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and US envoy Keith Kellogg, emphasized that negotiations can only begin after a complete and unconditional ceasefire.
According to their public statements on May 11, the leaders echoed earlier positions from Ukraine, France, and the US, reiterating that any dialogue must be preceded by a halt in hostilities.
Chancellor Merz described Russia’s willingness to talk as “a positive signal” but said it remains insufficient without concrete steps. “We expect Moscow to agree to a ceasefire that enables real negotiations. First, the weapons must fall silent,” Merz said in Berlin after returning from his first official visit to Kyiv.
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that the global community awaits a clear response from Moscow on an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. “Ukraine is ready. There should be no more victims,” he wrote in a post on X.
Keith Kellogg, special envoy under President Donald Trump, also rejected the sequencing proposed by Russia. “As President Trump has repeatedly said: Stop the killing! First, an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, and during that period, launch comprehensive peace talks. Not the other way around,” Kellogg said, responding to the New Zealand Prime Minister’s support for a temporary truce.
French President Emmanuel Macron similarly insisted that “there can be no negotiations while weapons are still firing.” He stressed that President Zelenskyy had accepted a 30-day ceasefire without preconditions and called for a corresponding response from Moscow.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said Russia’s overnight drone strikes on Ukraine contradict its stated willingness to negotiate. “Putin is using terror as leverage and trying to buy time,” he said, adding that failure to implement a ceasefire by Monday should result in a new round of sanctions.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who spoke with Putin by phone, welcomed the idea of resuming talks in Istanbul but emphasized that a ceasefire is a necessary condition for meaningful negotiations. “A window of opportunity has opened for peace,” Erdoğan’s office said in a statement, “but a comprehensive ceasefire is needed to move forward.”
While Russia has proposed talks beginning May 15, Ukraine and its partners continue to demand an unconditional ceasefire starting May 12 as a prerequisite for any further diplomatic engagement.
